Touching story at General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's high school

“When we arrived at the school gate, the General Secretary got out of the car and I quickly went out to greet him. At that time, the General Secretary’s health was not good. I immediately held his hand and walked with him. Suddenly, the General Secretary tilted his head and said to me softly: “You and I will hold hands and walk together”. That is a memory I will never forget in my life,” said Mr. Le Trung Kien, Principal of Nguyen Gia Thieu High School (Long Bien District, Hanoi).

Recalling old stories, Mr. Le Trung Kien said that the memories with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong are always in his heart, especially on the occasion of the school's 70th anniversary celebration (November 14, 2020).

“I had the chance to meet General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to invite him to attend the ceremony. Unexpectedly, he spent a lot of time with me despite being very busy with work. The strange thing was that throughout the conversation, the General Secretary called me teacher, and he called himself em, like a student. In addition to stories about the school, the General Secretary also asked me if the school invited former teachers and students. When I said yes, his face was very happy and joyful. The tactfulness and humility of the highest leader of the Party and State is truly rare,” Mr. Le Trung Kien said emotionally.

That year, the General Secretary returned to the school to attend the anniversary ceremony as a former student. In the memories of the cadres, teachers and staff of Nguyen Gia Thieu High School, he appeared with a very simple image, a friendly style, without any hint of the formality of a high-ranking leader. The way he addressed his former homeroom teacher as "em" also made many people surprised and admired. In the story, every word and smile of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong always exuded gratitude and respect for the teachers who taught and educated him, contributing to the formation of his personality and close feelings for the school named after the famous Nguyen Gia Thieu.

In the traditional room of Nguyen Gia Thieu High School, the school solemnly displays photos of the activities of the student - the young man - the leader Nguyen Phu Trong. Among them are photos of the Class President, Secretary of the Youth Union of Class 9B, 10B Nguyen Phu Trong with a gentle smile; photos of Nguyen Phu Trong's students with close friends: Ngo Ba Duc, Hoang Van Tai; photos of comrade Nguyen Phu Trong with his classmates and also photos of the General Secretary visiting the school, giving gifts to students of Nguyen Gia Thieu High School who achieved high scores in the university entrance exam...

Looking through the yellowed school registration book, Mr. Le Trung Kien choked up reading the teacher's comments about his student Nguyen Phu Trong before graduation: "Ranked A2. Excellent. Good at all subjects; has the spirit of studying hard; enthusiastic in work; has a high sense of responsibility in work; has many contributions to building a good collective; good character, good attitude towards teachers and friends. Commendable".

“Stories about General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s difficult and arduous childhood and his excellent academic achievements are always told by the school during thematic meetings, using them as motivation for teachers and students to strive together. It can be said that the General Secretary is the spiritual support of our school,” Mr. Le Trung Kien shared.

The story of the gentle, intelligent, and hard-working student Nguyen Phu Trong was also enthusiastically told by teacher Vu Ngoc Huynh. “Back then, I taught math for grade 6 with student Trong and some other students from Dong Anh coming to study. They all came from very poor families, had to bring rice, stay at people's houses, teachers' houses, and even had to go to the Red River to collect firewood to cook for themselves, but all of them were good students, obedient, and had the will to strive. In his poem, student Ngo Ba Duc wrote: Remembering the afternoon of stealing green guava/Instead of rice for dinner, still studying diligently/The Red River was flooded/Swimming out to collect firewood, gradually looking for something to boil”...

Having studied at Nguyen Gia Thieu school for 6 years, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong was always on the list of excellent students in the city, especially in literature. When he was in 10th grade, he surprised his friends with a long presentation in extracurricular activities on a social topic that few people were interested in at the age of “not yet full, not yet worried”. That was: The fate of farmers in the work “Tat den” by Ngo Tat To, “Bi vo” by Nguyen Hong, the fate of women in To Huu’s poetry. Perhaps, from that time, he had felt the pain of human suffering, had been troubled by good - bad, loss - gain.

What to do to make life more meaningful
The final year of high school
Or just let life flow quietly
Over time, boring and cold?

The poem "The last year of high school" he wrote in September 1962 at the beginning of the new school year 1962-1963 ended with 4 verses like that!

Having gone through many higher levels of education, holding important positions in the Capital, the National Assembly, the Party, and the State, student Nguyen Phu Trong has become a leader with great personality, ready to face challenges, shoulder heavy responsibilities, and preserve the purity of the Party and the longevity of the regime and the country.

At 80 years old, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is a shining example of revolutionary morality of a communist soldier, a shrewd and intelligent politician, an excellent theorist of the Party; a lifelong devotee to the ideals of national independence and socialism, for the happiness of the people.

''Writer Nguyen Dinh Thi once wrote: On this shirt there is not a single medal, but under this thin shirt there is a heart. Very profound! And poet To Huu has written many articles about Uncle Ho, and I really like the sentence: The fragile cloth shirt has a thousand-foot soul, better than a bronze statue exposed on worn paths. Honor is the most sacred and noble thing, resolutely opposing individualism, all for the common cause, that is a true communist'', General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong once said.

The heart of the true communist Nguyen Phu Trong has stopped beating, but his spirit and personality live forever!